28% of Father’s Day Shopping to Happen Online

Jason Hahn | DM Confidential | June 13, 2012

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), $12.7 billion will be spent on Father’s Day this year, with nearly 1 in 3 shoppers saying they’ll shop online this year.

The average person will spend $117.14 on gifts for dads this year, up 10 percent from $106.49 last year. To compare, consumers planned on spending $152 each on Mother’s Day this year.

According to NRF’s survey, $2.3 billion will be spent on special outings (e.g., eating out, sporting event) this year, up from $2.0 billion in 2011. Meanwhile, $1.7 billion will be spent on electronic gift items, up from $1.3 billion last year; $1.7 billion will be spent on apparel, up from $1.4 billion last year; $1.7 billion will be spent on gift cards; $641 million will be spent on sporting goods; and $645 million will be spent on books and music.

NRF found that 53.9 percent of people will be shopping for fathers or stepfathers this year, up from 50.3 percent last year. Meanwhile, 29.2 percent will be shopping for husbands; 9.7 percent for sons; 5.3 percent for grandfathers; 6.8 percent for brothers; and 5.7 percent for friends.

Department stores will be the most popular shopping destination for Father’s Day gifts this year, as 41.6 percent of people say they’ll be heading there this year. Thirty-four percent say they’ll go to discount stores, 28.6 percent will go to specialty stores (including greeting card/gift and electronics stores) and 10.7 percent will head to specialty clothing stores.

The NRF survey also found that 28.4 percent of respondents will shop online for Father’s Day gifts this year, up from 22.1 percent who said they would do the same in 2011.

Mobile shopping will also be in vogue this Father’s Day, with 25.2 percent of tablet owners saying they’ll use those devices to make a Father’s Day purchase. Meanwhile, 54.6 percent of tablet owners will use their devices to research products and compare prices, redeem coupons and look up retailers’ information (e.g., store hours and location).

According to NRF, 26.7 percent of smartphone owners will use their smartphones to research gift ideas and compare prices, while 18.9 percent will use their smartphones to look up store hours and location information, 11.3 percent will use apps or purchase products, and 13.7 percent will purchase a Father’s Day gift via their smartphone.

Separate data from Responsys indicates that retailers aren’t pushing Father’s Day as hard as they did last year. For the week ending June 8, about 27 percent of retail emails mentioned Father’s Day, down about 15 percent from the same week in 2011.

According to Experian Hitwise, volume and revenue for Father’s Day peaks two weeks before the holiday.

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